


False Direction - Cedric Diggory

by sxrensxng



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sxrensxng/pseuds/sxrensxng
Summary: Cedric and Cho are the newest couple in school and everyone seems to agree that they were made for each other. Everyone except Harry and y/n, who are each pining after Cho and Cedric respectfully.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Reader, Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang/Harry Potter, Harry Potter & Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 146





	1. part one

**Author's Note:**

> as always, this is crossposted onto my wattpad (sxrensxng) and my tumblr (sxrensxngwrites).

The lawn by the Black Lake was a frequent spot for students to spend their free time, especially when the weather was nice. Students could be seen playing mock matches of quidditch or milling about under the trees.

A cluster of students stood about near the shore of the lake, eagerly engaged in conversation. Their eyes were focused on a pair of students in particular, a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw. The two had their hands intertwined and grins spread broadly across their faces.

They were a handsome duo, no one could deny them that. Cedric was good-looking on his own, but with the lovely Cho by his side, they almost seemed a matching set. Their eyes were fresh and cheerful, and an impermeable blush seemed to rest upon their cheeks.

Their company seemed almost as enamored with the couple as Cedric and Cho were with each other. Friends from both houses seemed to be on the edge of their seats as Cedric recounted his tale of asking Cho out to Hogsmeade for the first time.

"I decided to test my luck," Cedric laughed, "so I crossed my fingers and went for it."

Most found the story endearing, although others found it _insufferable_.

Under the shade of a nearby tree sat another girl, her eyes trained onto the scene. [Y/N] hated to admit it, but they did look picture perfect. If the boy at the center of the attention was anyone other than Cedric Diggory she might've been happy for them as well. Instead, she felt something angry brewing inside of her.

She cursed herself in her head, recounting all that she could've done to prevent this jovial scene. 

_Maybe_ if she'd been a little bolder in class, she might've been on his arm instead. _Perhaps_ if she'd actually talked to the boy more than just in passing, the whole scenario would've been prevented.

It was embarrassing to be sitting on the sidelines like this, especially when she felt the way she did. It was already humiliating to be pining after a taken boy, let alone one who made her feel the way he did.

[Y/N] had held her crush on Cedric close to her heart for the past three years, and refused to let go.

***

_The girl's arms were struggling to carry the herbology supplies, buckets and trowels balanced delicately on top of one another._

_"Do you need help?"_

_The thirteen-year-old girl looked up with wide eyes at the newcomer. She recognized him as the Hufflepuff boy in the year ahead of her who always stopped by to help Professor Sprout._

_"Yes, please!" She squeaked out a response, and the boy didn't hesitate to take all the supplies directly from her hands._

_"It seems like everyone forgot to clean up after themselves, huh?"_

_The girl gave him a nod, knowing he wasn't far from the truth. A few of her classmates had left out their supplies, and she knew she'd be able to snag a few extra house points if she offered to clean up._

_"I'm Cedric." The boy smiled as he led the way to the storage greenhouse, stopping to catch the door with his foot._

_[Y/N] felt her heart leap up within her throat as he smiled at her. From that moment in the storage room of the herbology greenhouses, she knew she was gone._

*******

She did feel a _little_ selfish, glaring at the happy couple. It wasn't like she wanted either of them to be unhappy. She just wished things were _different._

She dug her heels into the ground as she forced herself to pay attention to the book in her lap. If she could just think about anything else, then everything would be fine. Although, the closer she looked the more things reminded her of her indestructible crush on Cedric. The herbology book in her lap felt the need to remind her that in order to uproot wolfsbane one needed a gardening trowel, and the notion only brought back memories of third year.

Defeated, [Y/N] closed the book and continued her surveying of the Black Lake. To her surprise, a rather upset Mr. Potter had appeared in her peripherals.

Harry was a year younger than she was, but she'd seen him plenty of times around the castle. That much was a given, considering the tales of his adventures spread like wildfire. He had borrowed a quill from her in the library once, and even requested her help on a potions essay here or there.

Harry practically threw himself onto the ground next to her, his face holding the exact same expression one might have if they swallowed a large serving of polyjuice potion. She shifted her glance to access Harry further.

They had never been _close_ friends, but [Y/N] would admit that Harry had always been kind to her. In fact, Harry's change in demeanor seemed rather out of character for the boy.

She followed his line of sight to see that he too was staring at the new golden couple of Hogwarts.

Of course.

" _Cho_?"

Harry let out a mumble in response. Harry was never exactly the most subtle with his crushes, and the girl next to him could see what admiration he held for Cho in his eyes.

"Looks like the both of us have rather bad luck, aye?"

Harry ripped his eyes from the scene to look at the girl next to him.

" _Cedric_?"

"Unfortunately!" She let out a laugh and looked to the ground.

Harry could see in the way that she furrowed her brow that he felt the same way he did. Frustrated. He'd been crushing on Cho for nearly a year and a half at this point, and the sight of her being with Cedric sent Harry's mind into a frenzy.

He'd thought he'd been so close too! He'd managed to talk to her a few times and even threw around the idea of asking her to Hogsmeade once or twice. Although, now it seemed like things were going any direction but right.

"I wish I'd asked him out when I had the chance." She huffed, looking wistfully at the boy she so desperately admired. "That way I could at least say I tried, even if he didn't say yes."

The words were taken right out of Harry's mouth.

"I wish there was a way we could just stop it." He cocked his head to the side as he continued to study Cho and Cedric further. "Is that bad of me to say?"

"I don't think so. I'd give anything just to show them that there was another way."

The girl glanced over at Harry, whose brow had flown up at lightning speed, and could see something intelligent going on behind his eyes.

***

"Are you two mad?" Hermione asked.

Harry gave a shrug. "Maybe."

"Probably." [Y/N] added in, her attention focused on her breakfast.

Ron's attention was fastened on her free hand, which was tightly wound with Harry's.

"Who's to say this'll work anyway? They might just take this as a clue that they made the right decision."

"I hate to say it, but Ron's right." Hermione said. "This whole plan rides on the very slim possibility that they both fancied you two to begin with."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, 'Mione." [Y/N] said, unwinding her hand from Harry's. "At this point, what do we have to lose? Pretending to date each other doesn't hurt anyone."

Hermione huffed out a breath of air and began to clear her belongings from the table.

The plan was very flawed, whether the pair orchestrating it liked to admit it or not. Harry and [Y/N] would pose as a couple, hoping to spark feelings of jealousy within Cedric and Cho. As Hermione had said, the success of the aforementioned plan depended on whether or not Cho or Cedric harbored feelings for Harry or [Y/N] respectfully. The odds were anything but in their favor, but at least they could say that they tried.

"I'm going to class. Care to join me, anyone?" Hermione prosed.

"I think I'll pass." The other girl admitted. "My _boyfriend_ and I have a plan to set in motion."


	2. part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always, this is crossposted onto wattpad (sxrensxng) and tumblr (sxrensxngwrites)

Keeping up appearances as Harry's girlfriend was harder than [Y/N] had originally thought.

It was  _ odd  _ having a boy a year younger than her, one that she had always seen as a brother, guiding her around like a well-intentioned puppy. Not only was it odd, it was  _ awkward.  _ Harry tried his best to act like the whole debacle was normal, but it was easy to tell that he was put off by pretending to be someone's boyfriend.

He now walked her to class and carried her books. He even held her hand when he felt like someone was watching them. She had begun to hang out with him and his friends on trips to Hogsmeade, and not to mention supporting him at every Quidditch match. It would've been a wonder if Cedric and Cho hadn't seen the two at that point.

The Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had been all anyone had been talking about all week. Whoever won was going on to play against Slytherin in the finals, and the crowds were eager to see the results.

The same excited chatter filled the stadium as it always did, and the seats were nearly filled to bursting. Blue and bronze colored scarfs and sweaters decorated one side of the stadium and red and gold the other. The atmosphere of any Quidditch match at Hogwarts was usually above and beyond, and this one wasn't any different.

[Y/N] had taken her seat amongst the heart of the Gryffindor stands, perfectly posed for her facade of supporting Harry. It wasn't like she  _ wouldn't  _ support her friend if they weren't pretending to be a couple, but she might've been sat away from the action if she wasn't.

To complete the illusion, the girl was wearing a Gryffindor sweater. She had borrowed it from Hermione, although the rumors that were circulating said it was Harry's. She smiled in satisfaction, knowing that if who her sweater belonged to was amongst the gossip this week, then perhaps word of her and Harry's "relationship" had reached Cedric and Cho.

Hermione and Ron sat on her right engaged in conversation, but she herself was studying the faces in the stands and keeping her eyes peeking for the one and only Cedric Diggory. They had sat together once or twice before, whenever Cedric wasn't playing. She remembered the times fondly, even if not many words were spoken. She crossed her heart that Cedric would repeat the past and sit with her, although she knew it was a foolish notion. He would probably sit with the Ravenclaw section to support Cho, like she was supporting Harry.

" _ Whatcha lookin' for?" _

She practically jumped out of her own skin when she heard Cedric's voice. He definitely wasn't supposed to be in the Gryffindor cheering section!

"Uh—just watching everyone warm up." [Y/N] covered, her face flushed.

Cedric nodded and turned to look down at the pitch. Luckily, both teams were actually running drills on the pitch before the match began. Cho was currently weaving up and down the field, preparing to catch the snitch. Harry was also on the field, although currently in a huddle with the Weasley twins and Oliver Wood.

[Y/N] looked up from the Gryffindor team and back at Cedric.

"If you don't mind me asking, what brings you up here?" She asked, her palms slightly sweaty.

Cedric chuckled. "I came to sit with Mikey and Curtis like I usually do, but it seems like they decided to clear out." He shifted his glance from the field and onto the girl in the Gryffindor sweater.

"I could ask you the same." He joked, giving the girl a nod. "Last I checked you weren't a Gryffindor."

[Y/N] laughed at that one. She gave the handsome boy a shrug.

"Well I—"

"Wait, lemme guess." Cedric turned his entire body away from the pitch and towards the girl. His brow furrowed and he rubbed his chin as he pretended to theorize. "You and Potter."

She gave him a nod, and watched as he shook his head.

"I'm gonna be honest," He laughed as he leaned over the railing of the stands. "I didn't wanna believe it when I heard it."

What was  _ that _ supposed to mean? [Y/N] looked at him once more, her own brow furrowed.

"How come?"

"Well, I consider both you and Harry my friends. It just caught me by surprise when I heard about you two being a couple. I didn't know you two really knew each other."

_ The same could've been said for him and Cho. _

"Yeah, we'd talked before. He asked me out to Hogsmeade about two weeks ago." The lie came out of her mouth like clockwork. She'd been telling the story that she and Harry had made up for the past week and a half, but she couldn't help but feel slightly upset telling Cedric. She'd been waiting all this time to plant the seed of her master plan, but it didn't feel  _ right. _

"Enough about me." [Y/N] quickly said before her disappointment could seep through the cracks. "What about you and Cho?" She attempted to wag her eyebrows, another sorry attempt to seem lighthearted.

Cedric laughed. Although, one could hardly call it a laugh. More so, he let a puff of hair blow out of his nose.

"We broke up."

_ Merlin's beard. _

[Y/N] stared at Cedric for longer than she'd like to admit. Did she hear him right?

"What happened?" She caught the words flying out of her mouth before she could stop them. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Cedric looked up, and the girl next to him could only imagine that he was focused on one of the tiny flags atop one of the Quidditch towers. He exhaled, and [Y/N] could only think about how handsome he was.

"We jumped into it too fast, I suppose. We agreed that we worked better as friends." Cedric looked back down at the girl in the Gryffindor sweater and gave her a smile. "No hard feelings at all, you know?"

Said girl nodded, and suddenly felt very sick to her stomach.

"Let me know what love's like, because I'd love to know."

***

[Y/N] quite literally had her face buried in a book on the library table. Her cheek was flush with the pages as she groaned for about the fourth time this hour.

"How could we be so  _ stupid? _ "

She picked up her head only to throw it back down onto the book once again.

"Why'd you let us do this, Hermione? You're supposed to be the smart one." She continued.

"If I remember correctly, both Ron and I tried to warn you against it." Hermione didn't bat an eye at the girl next to her, and continued to shuffle through book after book.

[Y/N] flopped her head to the left to glare at Hermione. " _ Hush up. _ "

"So you mean to tell me that not two weeks after you two begin your fake relationship, Cedric and Cho are already broken up?" Ron was leaned up against a bookshelf with his arms crossed, a smug look on his freckled face.

"Yes, exactly that. You don't have to rub it in." Harry grumbled from another chair at the table, his own face propped up against his arm.

"And what's stopping you and Harry from 'breaking up' and getting who you fancy?"

"Because, Ronald." [Y/N] flew up, the bridge of her nose red from where it's been shoved against the book. "The entire castle just found out about Harry and I last week, and it doesn't reflect well on either of us to break up with each other  _ just  _ after Cedric and Cho did. It'd be  _ obvious  _ that we were faking the whole time!"

"Sounds a bit complicated if you ask me." Ron gave a mumble and turned his back on the group, clearly done with the whole ordeal. Whether [Y/N] liked to admit it or not, she was making this more complicated than it needed to be. Sure, her and Harry's egos might be a bit wounded after, but she'd have to toughen up and swallow her pride.

"What are we gonna do, Harry?"

"We've got to end this fast, before it gets too out of control." He nodded. "Before Cedric and Cho change their minds." He joked.

"So it's decided," [Y/N] said to her partner in crime. " _ You need to break up with me in front of the whole school." _

" _ Agreed _ ."


	3. part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all always, this is crossposted on my wattpad (sxrensxng) and my tumblr (sxrensxngwrites)

Everyone in the entirety of Hogwarts could tell something was off with Harry and his "girlfriend". They had gone from never being apart to suddenly never being together in a matter of days. Everyone  _ really  _ knew something was up when she sat at her own house table for breakfast that morning, something she hadn't done once in the two weeks they'd been together.

No one dared to ask what was wrong, however much they wanted to know. They had been the talk of the town a week ago and they still were now, although in an entirely different context from before.

_ "Do you think he did something to make her mad?" _

_ "Maybe Weasley told her off! He does that sometimes." _

The girl who was the subject of such rumors stifled back a laugh as she ate her breakfast. This was  _ good _ . Things were going exactly how she and Harry had planned. Give the masses an inkling of their breakup, let it spread like wildfire, and then seal the deal. Of course they'd waited another two days before putting things in motion, that way their breakup would be spaced out from that of Cedric and Cho.

Although things were looking good now, [Y/N] couldn't help but worry that she'd miss her chance. She'd been waiting years for it, and she couldn't let it go by again. After her and Harry had "broken up" she was going to speak to Cedric. Sure, confessing this early was a bit out of the equation, but that wouldn't stop her from at least putting herself out there.

***

Cedric had felt sick to his stomach for about the last week or two. Things with Cho had ended smoothly, which was more than he could ask for, yet something still didn't sit quite right with him. The world seemed to be at a standstill for something he didn't really understand.

That was partially a lie. Cedric  _ knew  _ why he felt the way he did, he just didn't want to admit it. He felt this bubble of jealousy because she and Potter were dating.

It was embarrassing to have fallen for someone so quickly, especially after he'd just departed from his last relationship.

Yet, that was a lie too. There was nothing quick about his falling for [Y/N]. It had been a gradual descent that Cedric himself had barely noticed.

Of course he'd seen her around school, especially when she'd stay after class to clean up the greenhouses. Cedric himself often helped Professor Sprout in his own free time, so it was no wonder that he often saw her.

The first time he actually  _ spoke  _ to her was one he'd never forget. She had been carefully balancing a stack of buckets and trowels in her arms, teetering from side to side as she attempted to find the storage room. Cedric had laughed to himself at the sight before going to help the girl, and taking a large portion of the stack from her.

From then on out he had run into her more. He'd pass by her in the hallways, and sometimes sit with her during Quidditch matches. He would always find himself on the edge of his seat, keeping an eye out for her. Of course he'd want to be around her, he told himself. She was funny and sweet, and they were friends! Friends were always excited to see one another, weren't they?

Becoming a Prefect had given Cedric something else to think about, but it didn't completely remove the girl from his mind. He tried his hardest to separate himself from her spheres of influence, but they were friends weren't they? Friends just didn't ignore one another.

Cedric currently sat in the Clock Tower Courtyard, head in his hands. How could have he have been so stupid? How could have he wasted all that time on Cho when it had been [Y/N] he was after all along?

He received a prod in the ribs from Mikey, another sixth year Hufflepuff and one of his closest friends.

"Why the long face, Ceddie?"

Cedric gave a grunt as he pulled his face from his hands.

"I'm a dunce, that's why."

"Care to elaborate?" Curtis asked from his other side, seated on the same bench.

"I'm in love with the girl Potter's dating, and I just figured it out now."

Mikey and Curtis exchanged a knowing glance.

"Might not be that way much longer, Ceddie." Mikey now whispered, his index finger pointing to a cluster of students who flooded from the clock tower itself.

Cedric looked up from his dismal session of pouting to examine what Mikey was talking about.

The group was mainly composed of Gryffindors, with several other students from different houses sprinkled throughout. It had gotten louder, and the army of students were obviously following a disagreement of some kind. At the heart of the conflict were two students, both of which Cedric knew, and one of which made his heart skip a beat.

[Y/N] had stomped out into the courtyard before turning on her heel to face Harry. In her hands was a bunched-up Gryffindor scarf. Harry stood there, looking at her with a blank expression.

"Harry James Potter!" She yelled, which was something Cedric had only seen her do once or twice, and never at this capacity. "I told you! We're through!" She stomped towards him one last time, and shoved the scarf into his hands before turning around and fleeing through the arch at the opposite end of the courtyard.

Cedric watched after her, as he imagined Harry was doing. However, Harry himself had fled back into the castle and was being pursued by Ron, Hermione, and a girl in a Ravenclaw scarf.

"What are you doing just sitting here, you dunce?" Curtis smacked Cedric on the back of the head with the Quibbler he'd been reading. "Aren't you bloody in love with her?"

"I am!" Cedric practically yelled as he stumbled to stand. He took off after the girl, not even paying mind to his belongings that he left on the bench.

Mikey gave a glance to Curtis that conveyed something along the lines of "I told you so." and Curtis knew that he had also seen the small handshake that occurred between [Y/N] and Potter when she gave him back his scarf.

***

[Y/N] had to fight the smile that was creeping onto her face as she ran away from Harry. She felt  _ slightly  _ bad for doing it in front of everyone, but she also knew that this would send their plan over the edge, to just where they wanted it. Who was she kidding? She was absolutely ecstatic whenever she saw Cedric looking into their "fight" with intrigue.

It was exactly how she wanted things to go. The breakup seemed natural to everyone and Cedric had seen. In fact, the only way that things would improve was if Cedric ran after her and proclaimed his love for her. Of course, that would've been a little bit far fetched, but a girl could dream.

"[Y/N]?"

She spun around to see the very man she was thinking about. Cedric looked back at her. His brow furrowed, before he took another step closer.

"If you don't mind me asking, is everything alright?"

She nodded her head, maybe a bit too enthusiastically.

"Yep, these things just happen, you know." She knew she needed to reel it in. She was letting her excitement get the best of her.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay." Cedric glanced down as his feet, something which [Y/N] never thought she'd see in her life.  _ The  _ Cedric Diggory? Nervous? If anything, he had a habit of fiddling with his school bag, which he was conveniently missing.

"I'll be okay." She gave him a soft smile, which came rather naturally. Of course it might make more sense if she acted more upset about the breakup, but she couldn't help but grin whenever she saw Cedric come after her. The warm feeling that she had first felt at the greenhouse began to spread from the pit of her stomach to the tips of her fingers and nose.

Cedric approached closer, has hands now stuffed into his pockets.

"Well, if you ever want to talk about it, we can." His eyes flitted over to the sky, away from her face. "Or not, that's okay too."

Silence filled the space again and they awkwardly looked back and forth between the sky and each other, always tempted to get another look.

"Cedric?"

He gave a hum in response.

"Maybe we can talk about it." [Y/N] obviously had no earthly intent to actually divulge the events of her secret relationship with Harry, but she couldn't help but feel that this was an opportunity in her doorstep. "At Hogsmeade? Maybe at the Three Broomsticks. If that's okay with you, of course!" She nervously tacked on the last sentence, realizing she probably came onto strong.

Cedric looked back at her, his eyes unwavering.

"I'd like that." He gave her a million dollar smile, the same one that made her melt in her shoes in her third year, and she couldn't help but feel thankful for her fight in front of the entire school.

She quickly glanced back at the courtyard to make sure the aftermath hadn't eaten Harry alive. In fact, it seemed to be the opposite. Harry was standing next to Cho Chang, who was currently engaging in conversation with the glasses-wearing boy.

Harry looked over at his friend through the arch of the courtyard and raised his brows.  _ So, did it work? _ The girl looked over at Cedric once more, making sure his eyes were glued on the sky, before turning around and giving Harry a thumbs up.

_ Things couldn't have gone better. _


End file.
